Ozone has been awarded GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by the FDA as a food preservative and disinfectant to increase product yield and shelf life. Ozone's utility as a chemical replacement to chlorine and its related compounds for disinfecting food contact surfaces has also been recognized. Ozone is a stronger oxidant than chlorine and acts faster over a wider spectrum of organisms than does chlorine and its related compounds. Moreover, there are proposed new regulations tightening limits on disinfection by-products (DBPs) on food surfaces and discharged process water. The use of ozone for disinfecting food contact surfaces presents less potential for generating undesirable residues and DBPs than does chlorine. Despite these recognized benefits, the use of ozone for disinfecting food contact surfaces has been limited.
Dispensing machines, including frozen dessert dispensing machines, are subject to bacterial contamination. Food and Drug Administration regulations require that frozen dessert dispensers in commercial use be cleaned at least once per day. To thoroughly clean these machines, it has been necessary to completely disassemble substantial portions of the machine prior to cleaning. This disassembly can be time consuming and labor intensive requiring extensive training. Moreover, some of the disassembled parts have been left soaking in disinfecting solution sometimes causing pitting or other damage to the part thus shortening its life. Disassembly also poses a risk to the operator because of contact with the cleaning chemicals. Importantly, the consequences of improper or incomplete cleaning by an operator can be hazardous. For example, if the operator "misses a spot", the cleaning solution is too weak, etc., there can be unchecked bacterial contamination. The cleanliness of the operator doing the cleaning is also significant.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a cleaning and sanitizing assembly and method that are simple to use and effective for cleaning and sanitizing automatic food and beverage dispensing machines. There is further a need for a cleaning and sanitizing assembly and method that permit the automatic dispensing machines to remain assembled during the cleaning process for cleaning and sanitizing in place. There is an additional need for a cleaning and sanitizing assembly and method that are fully automated to substantially prevent contamination caused by human error. There is a still further need for a cleaning and sanitizing assembly and method that may be added to an automatic dispensing machine as a stand-alone unit or as part of the manufactured or retrofitted automatic dispensing machine. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.